Having a solid SaaS sales forecast template in place is key to helping you shape and hit sales targets.
You need to understand what kind of realistic sales projections you can expect to smash your sales goals. However, as there are so many different elements that go into projecting SaaS sales, creating a realistic sales forecast is never easy.
In this guide, we’ll cover exactly what a SaaS sales forecast template should include. By incorporating all of these elements, and going into detail about forecasted sales, any SaaS business should have a better understanding of what they can expect from their sales efforts.
What is a SaaS Sales Forecast Template?
A SaaS sales forecast template is a pre-designed document that helps SaaS businesses predict and estimate their future sales revenues.
These templates typically include various sections and data points to help SaaS businesses analyze and project their sales performance over a specific period, such as a month, quarter, or year.
What To Include in a Saas Sales Forecast Template
Creating an accurate SaaS sales forecast template should involve bringing in a range of elements and data points to help you predict realistic sales performance. Here are some of the key things to include in your SaaS sales forecast.
Period
How long into the future will you be forecasting SaaS sales? The period you choose for your sales forecast serves as the foundational framework for your predictions.
Whether you opt for a monthly, quarterly, or annual time frame, the choice should align with your business’s operational cycles and long-term planning goals.
Historical Data
Look at previous sales performance to help you understand your SaaS sales forecast.
Historical sales data helps you establish the baseline for your forecasts. So, be sure to include this in your SaaS sales forecast template.
It’s usually best to include a longer historical period for more accurate results – typically spanning the past 12 to 24 months. This historical dataset should cover key metrics like monthly or quarterly revenue, customer counts, and customer churn rates. This gives you vital insights for predicting future sales over the same period.
Assumptions
Many different factors can impact your sales trajectory – like certain events, holidays, new product launches, marketing campaigns, and so on. Be sure to incorporate these events into your sales forecast.
While you can’t be entirely accurate about how these assumptions will steer your revenue, you can take an educated guess about sales fluctuations due to these events. Leave space for this in your SaaS sales forecast template.
Customer Growth
Projecting customer growth is a key element of any SaaS sales forecast. However, accurately predicting this growth can be tricky.
Divide your growth estimates into two segments: new customer acquisition and expansion within existing customers. Offer a detailed insight into the strategies and tactics that underpin your growth projections, factoring in any details you know about your target market and competitive landscape.
Pricing Strategy
Your pricing model plays an essential role in your revenue projections. You need to understand how your SaaS pricing will look over the chosen period in your SaaS sales forecast template.
Dive deep into the specifics of your pricing strategy. Account for pricing changes or adaptations, and understand how this might potentially impact revenue. Consider any discounts, promotions, and upsell opportunities you’ll run and factor this into your revenue projections.
Churn Rate
The churn rate is a critical metric for SaaS businesses. Understand historical churn rates and add this to your sales forecast.
You might want to include the voluntary and involuntary churn for a clearer picture of how this could impact your sales.
Sales Channels
You can’t develop a SaaS sales forecast without having a clear picture of your sales channels and how each one performs.
List out each sales channel and predict the performance of each one. The better you understand sales channels on an individual level, the more accurate your sales projections will be.
Sales Pipeline
The sales pipeline is a critical component in SaaS sales forecasting. How does your pipeline look, how far into the future does it go, and can you duplicate this for your forecasted sales period?
Try to dive deep into your sales pipeline projections and understand the average value of opportunities and the likelihood of them turning into closed deals. This should give you a good understanding of projected revenue and expected sales efficiency.
Growth Rate
Growth rate is an important metric for understanding your business’s sales trajectory.
Dive into the factors influencing your expected growth rate, like historical performance, market dynamics, and any strategic initiatives that will contribute to your growth. Align sales forecasts with forecasted growth.
Visualizations
When developing a SaaS sales forecast template, you should try to make it as visual as possible. This makes it easier to understand projected revenue over time.
Try to incorporate a range of visual aids, charts, and graphs to represent your sales forecast data. This helps people clearly understand your sales forecasts and makes for easier decision-making based on the report.
Scenario Analysis
Predicting SaaS sales is never completely accurate, which is why you’ll want to incorporate different scenarios into the forecast.
Include your “best-case,” “worst-case,” and “most likely” scenarios, and include potential outcomes these scenarios could result in. Understanding a range of possible scenarios will help you gain a more realistic picture of sales projections.
Conclusion
The more detailed you make your SaaS sales forecast template, the more accurate the forecast will be. So, make sure that you incorporate as many elements as possible into your sales projections to help you gain a realistic picture of your business revenue and growth.
If you’re looking to maximize your SaaS sales opportunities, you’ll want to ensure that your sales process is as streamlined as possible. This is where having the right live demo experience platform is key.
Book a demo with Saleo to see how this platform can transform your sales demos and help you close more deals.
